Oct 18, 2009

Maurice Blanchot: The Conquest of Space (1961)

Man does not want to leave his own place. He says that technology is dangerous, that it detracts from our relationship with the world, that true civilizations are those of a stable nature, that the nomad is incapable of acquisition. Who is this man? It is each of us, at times we give in to lethargy. This man suffered a shock the day Gagarin became the first man in space. The event is now almost forgotten; but the experience will be repeated in other forms. In these cases we must pay heed to the man in the street, to the man with no fixed abode. He admired Gagarin, admired him for his courage, for the adventure, and even paid tribute to progress; but one such man gave the right explanation: it is extraordinary, we have left the earth.[entyre text on atopia]